A POLICEMAN frustrated at a lack of responsibility shown by shops which sell alcohol to underage youths has said he has given his last warning.

Now Pc Ian Jarrett, who covers Frimley, Frimley Green and Mytchett, has threatened to prosecute traders who flout the law in a bid to curb frequent bad behaviour.

After a weekend of trouble centred on the recreation grounds around his beat, Pc Jarrett said: “There will be no more warnings.”

School holidays now see police fighting a battle against booze getting into the hands of bored youngsters, who often gather to drink in groups of more than 20.

Police can confiscate alcohol if they catch underage people with it but they are unhappy that shops and garages are failing to adequately check the ages of people who are buying it, despite a police campaign last year — and the drunken behaviour is leading to vandalism and other crime.

Pc Jarrett said: “The message clearly has not got through.

“On the night of Friday April 1, I confiscated nearly three dozen cans and bottles of lager from clearly underage youths.

“Last year I warned several retail outlets, but there will be no more warnings. When I have the evidence I will initiate prosecution.

“It is about time the staff and management of the retail units became more socially responsible and demanded some form of identification.

“I am very frustrated, as I’m sure are the people of Frimley, Frimley Green and Mytchett, who on a regular basis have to suffer petty criminal damage, mostly as a result of these youngsters and their drunken antics.”

He said every strand of the community had a part to play in combating the problem.

“It is a community problem which involves the people who sell the drink, the youths themselves and their parents, who will hopefully start questioning why their sons and daughters are coming home in a drunken state.”

Pc Jarrett praised the One Stop convenience stores in Frimley and Frimley Green, which he said no longer served anyone aged under 21 on Friday and Saturday nights.

He added: “If only a few more adopted this positive attitude rather than thinking of their profit and loss margins.”